Journal box axle stop



July 28, 1959 T,- W,- POTTER 2,897,018

1 JOURNAL BOX AXLE STOP Filed March 11, 1957 J/WENTUR- fqonns 14 Par-r59 35 .FL-i Ey 36 [free/vex United States Patent ()1 2,897,018 JOURNAL BOX AXLE sror Application March '11, 1957, Serial No. 645,242

4 Claims. (Cl. 308-38) This invention relates to means for arresting travel of a journal box across a journal, the box carrying a bearing resting on the journal wherein travel of the box relative to the axle is tended to be set up by inertia effects such as by impacts occasioned by sudden stoppage of the car or locomotive carrying the box due to such occasions as braking or in impact of one car against another as in humping or switching operations.

Reference is made to my prior Patent No. 2,637,604, issue May 5, 1953.

Under the inertia effects as above indicated, there is normally set up that relative travel between the journal box and the journal itself and this travel tends to lift the journal hearing or brass to such an extent that the brass will be rocked or tilted to bear on the journal by one edge with the rest of the brass lifted from contact with the journal.

This result is not only to be avoided so as to prevent damage of the brass or bearing under shock which may be great enough to break the brass or the wedge, or both and damage the edges, but also to prevent hot boxes resulting from waste grabs where the journal box is packed with waste. If the bearing lifts by one side from the journal, an opening is thus presented so that the waste under that inertia effect and upon travel particularly of the journal in the box is carried around the journal and enters to some degree between the journal and the bearing. When the bearing settles down on the journal, the waste is thus grabbed or pinched between the bearing and the journal, and the result is that when the car is set in motion, this waste becomes heated and lubrication is interrupted with the end result that considerable damage may be done not only to the bearing, but also to the journal.

The journal boxes are not precise nor held within close tolerances in their formation. These boxes are normally produced by casting, and it frequently happens that the core determining the inside dimensions of the box may shift slightly, particularly in side directions so that there may be a variation not only in thickness of the side walls, but there also may be a non-centering of the two walls which form the sides of the dust guard slot defining a well at the rear end of the journal box. The journal of course is normally presented through the opening through those two slot walls, and thus it may be that the journal itself is not located exactly axially of that opening. Then the bearing itself is held by a wedge in the upper inner side of the box, within a position determined by lugs or ribs cast in the box. This means that slight variations in the box formation may cause the box walls to be presented in such alignment with the center line of the bearing that the journal will be held slightly off-center of the dust guard well journal opening so that again the journal is not always centered in that dust guard well opening.

All of this means that when some device is to be employed to stop the travel of the box laterally of the journal, some provision has to be made for the irregularities encountered in the journal box in order that the axle stops may be most effective. It is to be remembered that the opening through the dust guard well is always sulficiently large to afford quite a bit of clearance around the journal, particularly on the shoulder at the inner end of the journal which is that part of the axle extending through the opening across the dust guard well.

With those factors in mind, reference is made to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in vertical central section through a journal box with my invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view in horizontal section on the line 3-3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view in rear side perspective of a stop member; and

Fig. 5 is a rear side view in perspective of a stop member wedge.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a standard construction is there illustrated wherein an axle 10 carries a wheel 11 on one diameter of the axle; a reduced diameter shoulder portion 12 extends from the axle 10 through the openings 13 and 14 in the rear and inner walls 15 and 16 between which walls is a dust guard well 17; and then from the shoulder 12, there extends by a further reduced diameter portion the journal 18. The outer end of the journal 18 carries a collar 19 in the usual and well known manner. The journal box generally designated by the numeral 20 carries the removable brass or bearing 21 to rest on the upper portion of the journal 18. Under the journal 18 is the usual waste packing 22.

The openings 13 and 14 as will be noted particularly in Fig. 1 are of different diameters, the opening 13 having a larger diameter than does the opening 14. That is standard construction. The dust guard normally fitting in the well 17 is omitted for the sake of clarity in disclosing the present invention. There is of course applied to the journal box 20 a front door (not shown) through which the bearing 21 may be removed and returned or replaced, and also through which the. packing 22 may be inserted and removed and also worked up around the journal 18 into compressive contact therewith.

An axle stop generally designated by the numeral 23, Fig. 4, is formed to have a thickness which will permit it to be inserted within the well 17 with tolerances permitting the insertion therein under the varying core conditions ordinarily encountered in foundry practice. The stop 23 is provided with a lower rear arcuate end surface 24, from the lower end 25 of which the end surface is carried upwardly by the surface 26 to the outer planar side 27.

The stop 23 is provided with a widened head 28, the front face of which is in the plane of the surface 27. The rear side of this head 28 is rounded on one side of the stop 23 to provide a surface 29 conforming in its radius of curvature approximately to the radius of curvature of the opening 13. On the other side of the stop 23, the head 28 has a rear, lower surface 30 conforming approximatelyto the radius of curvature of the opening 14. The transverse width of the head 28 is such that it will traverse the thicknesses of both the walls 15 and 16 when the stop 23 has its lower portion carrying the surfaces 24 and 26 inserted within the well 17 as best indicated in Fig. 1. Thus, there will be presented toward the shoulder 12 of the axle 10 a face 31 of a planar nature entirely across the stop 23 including the upper side extensions carrying the back faces 29 and 30. These axle stops 23, due to the differences in diameters of the openings 13 and 14, will necessarily be required to be made in left and right hand forms in order to have the larger radius of. curvature 29 on the proper side when the opposing stops 23 are inserted and secured in the manner nowto'be described.

Referring particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, the box being removed from the axle to facilitate positioning and welding, -an axle stop 23 will he positionedone'on each side of the shoulder -12 with the lower end portions within the dustguard well or slot'17 with the surfaces 24 bearing-respectively on the-surfaces defining-thenansverse wall of the slot 17 betweenthe back and-front-walls 13 and 14. I A fixture (not shown) is employed to locate the planarsurfaces 31 of the two stops23 at equal distances from the vertical'center line 'AB of the position-of the bearing '21.' This distance in each instance is equal to the radius of the journal 18 plus a maximum-of onesixteenth of an inch for clearance.- This clearance between thosesurfaces 31 and the surface of the shoulder 12 is provided for twisting of the journal=in the'box when the wheels traverse track curves.

While the face 31 is widened to cause the back side of the head 28 to extend'across the walls 15 and 16, the surfaces 29 and 30 are not intended to bear on the walls 15 and 16. 'Instead, the widened head 28 is provided to present the face 31 to be of sufficient width thatthe edge 41 of the shoulder 12 at its fillet with the journal 18 never leaves that surface 31 in axial travel of the shoulder relative to the box. Thus, that edge will not drop off the face 31, andupon return travel, strike the side of the head 28.

With the fixture holding the'stops 23 as indicated, a wedge member 32' is dropped behind each of the stops 23 between the back side of the stop 23 and the vertical wall of the dust guard well 17.

The wedge 3-2 as illustrated in Fig. 5, is provided with the planar front and rear surfaces 33 and 34, the rear v surface 34 being-shorter than the front surface '33 by reason of the lower end of the member 32 being tapered by the surface 35 from the rear side to the lower end 36. The rear surface 34 bears against the vertical wall of the dust guard well 17 whereas the longer surface 33 bears against the back side of the stop 23, that is bearing against theplanar surface 37 of the stop-23.

When the stops 23 are properly located by the fixtures, and resting by their lower ends on the wall of the well 17, and the wedges 32 are dropped therebehind, the upper ends of thewedges 32 and of the stops 23 are fixed into position such as'by welding the upperend of the wedge '32 at thezone 38 to the journal box wall within thewell 17, and welding the upper end of the stop/23 at the zone 39 directly to the wedge 32. The lower end of stop 23 is likewise secured to the wall of the journal box within the well 17 at the zone 40, the surface 26 being provided the permit alarge area of welding in that zone.

It is thus to be seen that the surfaces 31 which may be termed the impact surfaces are properly located in reference to the axle shoulder 12 when the box is returned to theraxle, so that upontendency of travel between the axle and the journal box 20, the shoulder 12 will promptly comeinto: contact with either of the stops 23 depending upon the direction of that travel. The impact of the box carried 'stop against the shoulder will be taken through the stop and the wedge 32 upon the wall of the journal box 20, so thatthe journal 18 will likewise be carried along with the travel of the-box 20, or the journal 13 will'be arrested in its travel in respect to the box whichever may be the result of the cause of the travel in the first instance.

By reason of the use of the two part stop, that is the axle stop 23 and the backing up wedge 32, the actual surface 31 may be located at the proper position in reference-to the surfaceof the'shoulder 12 regardless, of off center spacing apart of the box walls.- In addition, those surfaces 31 by reason of their conformation maybe initially adjusted .as above indicated to have'their surfacesopposing the shoulder 12 exactly in tangential relationsln'p therewith (a slight spacing of the surface from the shoulder 12 being indicated) at ends of the shoulder horizontal center line so that there will be no tendency for the box to be lifted, lowered, or even rocked around the journal 18.

The dust guard itself would be cut in two portions in reference to the normal practice, one portion below the axle stop 23 and an upper portion thereabove, but in view of the fact that this particular formation of the dust guarditself doesnot enter into the invention perse, it is not herein shown.

The surface 35 on the wedge member 32 is provided for clearance between it and the curving wall of the well 17, giving a desired surface contact of the wedge with the wall rather than .a two point contact, the upper portion of the wall being planar and not curved.

Therefore while I have shown the invention in the one precise form as described, structural changes ob viouslymay be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention,--and I=therefore do notdesire to be limited to that "precise'form beyondthe limitations which may be imposed by the following claims. 1

l. The combination with a railway car journal box having a dust guard well at its rear end defined by two spaced apart, approximately vertical walls extending down opposite box sides and across the floor of the-box in general U-shaped marginal contours, providing a U- shaped entering well therebetween, wherein-the fioor of the well is arcuate thereacross, turning upwardly by its end portions androunding into the side walls between said vertical walls,-ajournal freely extending by a shoulder across said well walls into the box,-and a bearing resting on that part of the top side of said journal beyond said shoulder and within said box: of a pairof axle stops, one carried by said box and 'entering between said vertical walls on each-side-of said journalshoulder spaced from said bearing; each axle stop comprising. two members; one of saidmembers having a portion entering between and extendingalong' said vertical walls, a lower-end of saidportion having an arcuate end :bearing on saidfloor in the zone thereof rounding into said well side walls, and said one member having a journal stop head planar faceex-tending across an uppenextent of said portion-and directed toward said journal shoulder and across and clear of said vertical walls; :thesecond of saidrnembers being wedge shaped and fittingYslidingly between said vertical walls andbearing by opposing-faces between said side wall and an upper extent of saidone member; thehead faces of said'onemember in each stop being spaced apart one from the other a distance fixed by said wedge members for the selected clearance between said journal shoulder and said head faces; the impact. of said shoulder upon travel of said journal-laterally of said box againstsaid head faces being transmitted through said heads,-said upper portion extent, and said wedge member to said .well side-walls; means fixing'the' lowerend of said one member to said box; .said second member extending by a portion above said one member; means fixing said'second member portion to said box upon said heads being spaced apart'withsaid head faces being approximately invertical parallelism to receive said journal shoulder rotatively therebetween; and means fixing the second member portions to said box to retainrelatively vertically disposed positions of the two members and maintain said spacing apart of said heads.

2. The structure of claim -1 in whichthe width of said axle stop heads longitudinally of the journalshoulder presents an area along said shoulder throughout maximum operating longitudinaltravel of the journal'collar relative to said box.

3. The structure .of claim 1 in which said fixing means consists of a weld between said box and-the said one memmember andsaid second member.

4. The structure of claim 1 in which said two mem- References Cited in the file of this patent hers bear against one another by planar faces angularly UNITED STATES PATENTS disposed 1n relatlon to said head faces, and sand second member bears against said well wall by a planar face; 627,456 Green June 1899 the lower end portion of said second member terminating 5 2,637,604 Potter y 1953 above said zone. 

